Niners RB Carlos Hyde cleared to practice

(7/30/15) A mere two days after his placement on the non-football injury list, 49ers running back Carlos Hyde has been removed from it, the San Jose Mercury News is reporting.

Hyde, who had been dealing with a lower leg strain, has been medically cleared to participate in the team's first full workout Saturday.

He is considered the front-runner to serve as the featured back this season, though a committee approach after the departure of Frank Gore is also a possibility. Hyde rushed for 333 yards and four touchdowns on 83 carries as a rookie in 2014.

Carlos Hyde among five 49ers placed on injury list

by Shawn Krest | CBSSports.com

(7/28/15) The 49ers placed RB Carlos Hyde on the non-football injury list. Hyde was bothered by a leg strain in the offseason, although the team didn't say whether that was the injury that landed him on the injured list.

Carlos Hyde returns to practice for 49ers

(6/6/15) 49ers running back Carlos Hyde returned to practice on Friday, for the last practice of the team's three-week OTA session.

Hyde had missed practice time due to a minor leg injury.

"He's feeling good," Coach Jim Tomsula said, per ESPN. "I actually went in and said, 'We don't need to go today.' Carlos hasn't missed a meeting ... he's been here every day. It's just more of, Let's just make it perfect."

Niners RBs Kendall Hunter, Carlos Hyde vying for featured role

by Marty Gitlin | CBSSports.com

(6/1/15) From 2006 through last year, there was no question about who would assume the featured back role for the 49ers.

It was Frank Gore. Period.

Times have changed. Gore has moved on to Indianapolis. Second-year back Carlos Hyde is his heir apparent, but the job will not be handed to him on a silver platter. The team added Reggie Bush in free agency, drafted Mike Davis in the fourth round and still has Kendall Hunter.

The latter is intriguing. He sat out 2014 with a torn ACL, but rushed for more yards in each of his first three seasons than the 333 Hyde recorded last year. And Hunter is fully recovered.

"He's coming along great," Jim Tomsula told CSNBayArea.com. "I think we all have strong feelings for Kendall. You see him out there moving. He's moving around great. But we definitely have a rep count on him. ... You've got to keep him corralled. But he's moving around really quick."

Hunter has 1,202 yards (4.6 average) and seven touchdowns in 43 career games.

Tomsula believes the 49ers are covered at running back no matter who emerges to earn the bulk of the work.

"I'm not talking depth charts or anything right now, but they're all getting after it."

All except Hyde, who has been sidelined for a couple weeks with a minor pull in his leg (not his hamstring). Tomsula said if it were the regular season, he would be active.

It looks like Reggie Bush will settle into a specific role with the 49ers after getting banged up last season with the Lions. He played in 11 games and rarely looked like a speedy, do-it-all back. So while his chances of being a Fantasy asset like he was from 2011 to 2013 have dwindled, he should wind up as a candidate for 50-plus receptions with the Niners as the passing downs back alongside second-year rusher Carlos Hyde. Don't draft the 30-year-old Bush with the hopes of a resurgent season. Instead, ball park him for around 150 touches with minimal touchdown production. Expect him to be taken past the halfway point of your drafts.